When Laputa was originally formed in 1993, the band's lineup was Aki on vocals, Hiro on guitar, Kusuba on bass, and Tomoi on drums. With that member lineup Laputa released their first demotape "Saddistの夢 (Saddist no yume)" in September. In November of 1993, Hideno, previously in AI SICK FACE, joined Laputa as an additional guitarist. Laputa then released their second demotape "奈落の底 (naraku no soko)" in December of '93. Hiro left Laputa shortly thereafter. Junji, formerly of visual indie band Ad de Vidar, then joined Laputa in January of 1994 as a guitarist replacing Hiro. Laputa then released their first single "私が消える (watashi ga kieru)" in May of 1994. Hideno left Laputa in July of 1994, later joining visual band Merry Go Round. Kouichi, formerly in popular indie visual band Silver-Rose, joined Laputa in the same month replacing Hideno. Laputa released an indie video titled "Paradoxical Reality" in September of 1994. Kusuba left Laputa on January 7th of 1995, and would later be in the bands Lúcide and Kraidhearz. Junji then switched instruments and became Laputa's bassist, and Laputa then had the lineup they would keep for the rest of their career. In February of 1995 Laputa released their first indie album "眩~めまい~暈 (memai)" which met with success in the visual indie scene. Laputa shot a music video for the song "Vertigo" from "眩~めまい~暈 (memai)". In February of 1996 Laputa released the indie mini-album "眩めく廃人 (kurumeku haijin)" which featured three new songs and new versions of the popular songs "Vertigo" and "Insatiable" from the "眩~めまい~暈 (memai)" album. In July of 1996 Laputa released an indie live video titled "箱庭 (hakoniwa)" featuring performances from a concert at SHIBUYA ON AIR WEST from their Paradoxical Reality TOUR IV that year.
With their increasing popularity in the visual indie scene, Laputa caught the attention of big record companies and signed to the major label Toshiba-EMI in August of 1996. Laputa released their first major single "硝子の肖像 / GARASU NO SHOUZOU" in September of 1994, which peaked at #34 on the Oricon singles chart. In October Laputa's first major album "蜉~かげろう~蝣 / KAGEROU" was released, peaking at #24 on the Oricon albums chart. Laputa released their second major single "eve ~Last night for you~" in May of 1997, peaking at #33 on the Oricon singles chart. Laputa's second major album "絵~エマダラ~斑 / e.m.a.d.a.r.a" was released in June of 1997, peaking at #24 on the Oricon albums chart. In July of 1997 Laputa released a live video called "MOV(i)E ON DARKNESS" featuring performances from a concert at SHINJUKU LIQUID ROOM in April of that year. In November of 1997 Laputa released their third major single "meet again", peaking at #20 on the Oricon singles chart. In February of 1998 Laputa released their fourth major single "揺れながら… (yurenagara)", peaking at #25 on the Oricon singles chart. Laputa's third major album "麝香 / Jakou" was released in February of 1998, peaking at #10 on the Oricon albums chart. On the same day of Jakou's release, the video "CLIPS OF CRUNCH LOOP" was released, featuring Laputa's music videos for their first four major singles and one for the song "麝香 (Jakou)". From September of 1998 to May of 1999 Laputa released the four major singles "Feelin' the sky", "Breath", "Chimes", and "Virgin cry", which peaked on the Oricon singles chart at #15, #29, #25, and #23 respectively. Laputa's fourth major album "翔~カケラ~裸 / c.a.k.e.r.a" was released in June of 1999, peaking at #10 on the Oricon albums chart. On the same day of its release, the video "CLIPS OF CRUNCH LOOP II" was released, featuring Laputa's music videos for the four singles from the "翔~カケラ~裸 / c.a.k.e.r.a" album along with bonus videos for the songs "WITH the WIND" and "Pink animals". In February of 2000, Laputa released the album "Coupling Collection + xxxk [1996-1999 singles]", a collection of the c/w songs (B-sides) from their eight major singles, along with the new song "xxxk animals" and a new version of the song "BUZZ" which was originally featured as a hidden song on their "揺れながら… (yurenagara)" single from 1998. "Coupling Collection..." peaked at #43 on the Oricon albums chart. In October of 2000, Laputa released the three-disc best-of album "3DISC BEST ~1995-1999 except Coupling Collection~", which featured 32 songs in all including Laputa's eight major singles and 24 other songs ranging from their first indie album "眩~めまい~暈 (memai)" from 1995 to their "翔~カケラ~裸 / c.a.k.e.r.a" album from 1999. "3DISC BEST..." peaked at #41 on the Oricon albums chart. That was their last release for the Toshiba-EMI label which the band left, then signing to the smaller major label Nippon-Crown. Laputa released their ninth major single and their first single on Nippon-Crown, "Shape ~in the shape of wing~" in October of 2000, peaking at #26 on the Oricon singles chart. In December of 2000 Laputa released the video "CLIPS OF CRUNCH LOOP III", featuring music videos for all three songs on the "Shape ~in the shape of wing~" single and a Director's Cut version of the music video for "Shape ~in the shape of wing~". In February of 2001 Laputa released their tenth major single "Silent on-looker", peaking at #43 on the Oricon singles chart. In March of 2001 Laputa released their fiifth major album "楽~ヘブン~園 / Heaven", peaking at #50 on the Oricon albums chart. In November of 2001 Laputa released the live video "Heaven to Perfection [Tour001 Programized-Heaven final-mission]", which featured performances from their tour that year. In March of 2002 Laputa released the mini-album "glitter", surprising many by showing the band changing styles and moving in a more electronic-oriented direction. "glitter" peaked at #66 on the Oricon albums chart. A music video for the song "POPular UPrising" from "glitter" was released. In June of 2002 the band released the dance single "深海 (shinkai) / Brand-new color", peaking at #58 on the Oricon singles chart. A music video for the song "深海 (shinkai)" was released. In July of 2002 the band released the album "誘~New Temptation~惑", peaking at #50 on the Oricon albums chart. Kouichi, who had been Laputa's lead songwriter since the "蜉~かげろう~蝣 / KAGEROU" album writing about 80% of the band's music, was reportedly in a hospital or clinic for much of this time in 2002. Because of this, he wrote only two songs on the "誘~New Temptation~惑" album, and Laputa's tour for the album consisted of less than ten concert dates. Junji wrote more of the songs on "誘~New Temptation~惑" than any other member, and would remain Laputa's lead songwriter for the rest of their career. Tomoi even wrote his first vocal songs for Laputa on the "誘~New Temptation~惑" album, the music and lyrics for the song "Dummy", and the lyrics for the song "Last". Up until then Tomoi had only co-written the instrumental song "BUZZ" with Junji. In April of 2003, Laputa released the mini-album "Sparks Monkey", peaking at #75 on the Oricon albums chart. After a year of on-and-off touring, Laputa released the mini-album "Material Pleasures" in March of 2004, peaking at #89 on the Oricon albums chart. In May of 2004 Laputa announced through their fanclub that they were disbanding, citing a desire for each of them to evolve. They released a best-of CD+DVD of their material from their years on the Nippon-Crown label titled "BEST AL+CLIPS 2000~2004" on July 28th, 2004, toured from August to September, and played their last live on September 5th, 2004 at Shibuya Koukaido. A DVD of the last live titled "ALL BURST" was released on December 15th, 2004.
Since Laputa's disbandment, Aki opened an official site at akiakiaki.com, and has written in his site's diary about writing music for an upcoming solo-project. Kouichi has a solo-project called Everlasting-K which will release its first CD on March 30th, a five-track mini-album titled "voulez-vouz". Junji has an upcoming solo-project called HALATION with a website at halation.jp. Tomoi has a website called Tomoi's Room #34, though his future activities remain unclear.
Breath
Laputa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
形のない器に 注ぎ込み飲み干した
一人きり 想いはつのる 儚く...
悴む指先で 確かめ会いたくて
降り積もればあなた
かくれんぼしてはしゃぐ
やるせない 孤独は続く
果てなく...
草原 春を待ち焦がれる
ため息まじりの 死化粧 施され
草原 駆け巡り
Breath, Breath of mind
一人きり 想いはつのる 儚く...
やるせない 孤独は続く
果てなく永遠に
たそがれる森は
雪折(あしおと)に被われ
草原 芽を息吹く
Breath, Breath of mind
たそがれる森は 雪化粧に覆われ
草原 春を待ち焦がれる
ため息まじりの 死化粧 施され
草原 駆け巡り
Breath, Breath of mind
The lyrics to Laputa's song Breath paint a somber picture of a person who is feeling overwhelmed by loneliness and isolation. The first verse describes the person pouring hot soup into an empty vessel to warm their cold heart. They are alone and their thoughts are fleeting, as they desperately wish to connect with someone. The second verse talks about how the snow-covered forest and the grassy plains await the arrival of spring while the person continues to feel trapped in their own sorrow.
The repeated refrain of "Breath, Breath of mind" seems to emphasize the importance of staying calm and centered in the midst of chaos, sadness, and despair. The lyrics suggest that breathing in and out mindfully can help ease feelings of anxiety and bring a sense of peace.
Overall, the song is about the struggle to find hope and meaning in life, even when it feels like everything is against you. It is a poignant reminder to take a breath, to keep breathing, and to hold on to the hope that things will get better.
Line by Line Meaning
凍えていく心 あたためるスープを
Pouring soup into a shapeless container to warm up a freezing heart
形のない器に 注ぎ込み飲み干した
Drinking it all up from the formless vessel
一人きり 想いはつのる 儚く...
Alone, fleeting thoughts accumulate
悴む指先で 確かめ会いたくて
Wanting to confirm with withered fingertips
降り積もればあなた
If it accumulates, you are there
かくれんぼしてはしゃぐ
Playing hide-and-seek and being boisterous
やるせない 孤独は続く
Helplessness and loneliness continue
果てなく...
Endlessly...
たそがれる森は 雪化粧に覆われ
The forest at dusk is covered in snow makeup
草原 春を待ち焦がれる
The grassy plain longs for spring to come
ため息まじりの 死化粧 施され
A deathly makeup is applied with a sigh mixed in
草原 駆け巡り
Rushing through the grassy plain
Breath, Breath of mind
Breath, Breath of mind
果てなく永遠に
Endlessly forever
たそがれる森は
The forest at dusk is
雪折(あしおと)に被われ
Covered in the sound of snow breaking
草原 芽を息吹く
The plain breathes life into the buds
Breath, Breath of mind
Breath, Breath of mind
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: AKI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@user-jz2po4ii6s
ボーカルが旅立ってしまったけど、美しい旋律と歌声は永遠です。。。
@kittn9883
akiさんの歌声はキレイなのに力強い。本当に唯一無二のボーカリストですよね。
旅立つには早すぎだけど、自分のやりたい音楽を最後まで出来たのは幸せだった、と思いたいです。
「好きこそ物の上手なれ」ですね😢
@madeveki
色んなバンドを見てきたけど一番引き込まれたバンドだった。
同じ時代に生きれてよかった、ゆっくり休んでください。お疲れ様!
@riek9993
初めて行ったライブ、ノリ方が全く分からずに友達姉妹、私と弟の4人で棒立ちしてたら『そこ!好きに楽しんでくれたらいいからね!』って指指して言ってくれました。前列のお姉さま方からは凄い勢いで振り返って睨まれましたけど、その後は記憶にないくらい楽しめました。akiさん素敵な人だったな…ありがとうございました
@user-bm2gw8cg7o
語り出したら終わらないくらい思い入れのあるバンドです。akiさんの歌は唯一無二です。これからも聴き続けます。ありがとうございました。
@GAGAGA77
この曲は一生聴くだろうな。
@HW-pl7um
悲報を聞いて聞きに来ました
悲しいけど昔より良い歌に聞こえます また聞きに来ます
@penipenimax
訃報を聞いてから改めて偉大さに気づいた。
やっぱり唯一無二のボーカルだし唯一無二のバンド
@kikyoangel0904
akiさん、ありがとうございました。泣けてくる。
@is6196
Laputaはこの歌が一番好きです。私の中では永遠に生きています。akiさんのご冥福をお祈りします。